Covering all the bases with whatever's bouncing around in my head today!

Results tagged ‘ movie quiz ’

Spring training exhibition games have finally started! In fact, I am listening to the Phillies face the Pirates in Bradenton at this very moment. I’m a pretty visual person, so I always have a hard time following games on the radio. I’m anticipating the first TV broadcast of the spring – for you Phillies fans out there, that will be this Saturday at 1:05 pm, when the Phillies will face Tampa Bay in Clearwater.

Currently, it’s scoreless in the top of the second inning, and Matt Capps has just walked three straight Phillies. Dang! Bruntlett just grounded into a double-play to end the threat. Oh well. I’d better concentrate on typing.

Just for a visual, here’s a couple of photos of McKechnie Field in Bradenton, where the Phillies are playing today:

Here, then, are the answers, with a little extra info for those of you, like me, who love to fill your heads with knowledge:

1. The Rookie is based on the true story of Jim Morris, who is portrayed by Dennis Quaid in the movie. Morris pitched for the Tampa Bay Devil Rays in 1999 and 2000, appearing in 21 games with a 4.80 ERA.

2. The character of Jimmy Dugan is loosely based on real-life Hall-of-Famer Jimmie Foxx. After a 20-year career that saw him elected to the Hall of Fame in 1951, he spent one season (1952) managing the Fort Wayne Daisies in the AAGPBL.

4. The only non-Red Sox item in Ben’s apartment in Fever Pitch is Yankee toilet paper.

5. In Rookie Of The Year, Barry Bonds is also joined by Bobby Bonilla and Pedro Guerrero as stikeout victims of 12-year-old Henry.**unrelated tidbit** I was shocked – shocked, I tell you! – to see the actor who plays Henry, Thomas Ian Nicholas, all grown up into horny teenage Kevin in American Pie.

6. Bennie “The Jet” Rodriguez dreams about Babe Ruth in The Sandlot.

7. Archibald “Moonlight” Graham appeared in one game for the New York Giants on June 29, 1905. He had entered the game as a defensive substitution, and was on deck when the game ended, so he never got to bat.

8. Former White Sox outfielder Ken Berry was a technical adviser for the movie Eight Men Out, about the 1919 “Black Sox” scandal.

9. A photo of Thurman Munson, along with a headline about his death in a plane crash, can be seen in Annie Savoy’s shrine during the end credits of Bull Durham.**extra tidbit** Thanks to Mets Main Man for pointing out to me that there was a real Bull Durham. He played for several different teams from 1904-1909, compiling a 5.28 ERA in 9 games.

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